1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle control apparatus which sets a predetermined target control amount according to an operation amount of a predetermined operation member provided for causing the vehicle to run, and controlling the vehicle according to the target control amount, and to a throttle trouble handling method which is applied for when a trouble occurs in at least any one of a throttle pedal and a part of obtaining the throttle pedal operation amount.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, a vehicle provided with an electronically controlled throttle valve has been spreading. In such a type of vehicle, a driver's operation amount of the throttle pedal is detected, and the throttle position is controlled electronically according to the throttle pedal operation amount. However, in the vehicle provided with the electronically controlled throttle valve, a trouble may occur in the throttle pedal, the throttle sensor or such. Therefore, Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 10-238388 for example discloses a method of controlling a throttle valve position with the use of a second control signal obtained from first order lag processing being executed on a guard signal based on a transmission gear position and a vehicle speed when a trouble occurs in a communication part, for achieving a safe saving running for when a trouble occurs in the communication part receiving a signal indicating a throttle valve operation amount.
Further, Japanese Patent No. 2844918 for example discloses a method for controlling a throttle valve so as to reduce each of a vehicle speed and an engine speed, to not more than a predetermined threshold, to deal with a trouble of a throttle pedal, a throttle sensor or such. Further, Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 2003-120385 for example discloses a method in which, for a trouble in a throttle sensor or such, a throttle valve is controlled by an assumption of a full throttle occasion.
It is noted that, conventionally, as an apparatus for controlling vibration of a vehicle, a control apparatus is known by which, with an input instruction corresponding to at least any one of a driver's throttle operation, steering operation and brake operation, at least any one, corresponding to the input instruction, of an engine and a brake is controlled (see Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 2004-168148 for example). In this vehicle control apparatus, for the purpose of controlling vibration of the vehicle, the driver's input instruction is corrected based on a motion model for vibration occurring due to the driver's input instruction, i.e., at least any one of vertical or twisting vibration due to road surface reaction force; vehicle body under-spring vibration in the suspension; and the vehicle body on-spring vibration received by the vehicle body itself.